iramurphy

I'm just catching up on posts after being in Knoxville last weekend. (was able to see U of Tennessee recruiting up close). I don't believe Gundy's connection to Mike "clouds the picture" but naturally there is some bias because he knows Mike.( I believe that may be what you meant). I lot of posters know Mike and believe he would be able to do an excellent job. I also think had Mike been the choice, he would have . I think UND picked the person who they think will do the best job and I trust that decision. I mentioned before, I didn't meet any of the others, review CV's, or contact references. Therefore, I couldn't say Mike was the best guy for the job. I think UND made a good choice and hopefully Chaves will move all programs forward and improve facilities with the sense of urgency I think is required.

Most people will understand what I wrote. You don't make a decision based on where someone is from. I'm not promoting Mike for the job nor am I opposed to Mike getting the job. Nobody has asked me what I think and I don't think they will. I'm not on the committee, haven't interviewed anyone, nor have I reviewed the CV's. I wasn't Mike's teammate, not did I coach Mike. Giving an opinion that we should choose the best person regardless of whether or not he is a UND guy doesn't suggest bias. Too many of you seem intolerant of others thoughts or ideas. As for your remark about "at least he isn't from Detroit Lakes" there is a common 2 word phrase that would apply to you. If you have a bias against Detroit Lakes then stay away. My loyalties are to UND before DL. I have no long term ties to DL and I am not from here. I have a long and solid relationship to UND and UND athletics.

That is baloney. The crap about having to hire someone from within or not hiring from within doesn't make sense. What if he is the best person for the job??? It is as simple as that. What is most important, is trying to figure out who will be the best person for the AD job. That is very difficult to do, but if you base a decision on whether someone is already at UND then you are selling yourself short as a decision maker (if you were a decision maker) and your are making decisions based on an unsubstantiated bias.

Our opinions shouldn't be considered beyond respectful listening. Too many people think there is a "GOBC" that actually has much influence over what happens at UND or with UND athletics. I believe there are some folks who have breakfast with or beers with some folks who are good supporters of UND athletics and know coaches and administrators. That group has some inside info at times and know some insiders. They may likely have some of the decision makers on their contact list/ speed dial etc. There are very few individuals who can bend the ear of Kennedy and influence his decisions. There are groups including the UND Alumni Assn, Champions Club, Altru etc. and some individuals like Phil Jackson, Wes Rydell, John Barry, Linda Pankratz etc who , if they bring suggestions or concerns he will spend time to look into the issues and get them answers. The GOBC is delusional if they think they are in that group. Donors in the $1500-5000 group are appreciated and will get responses from the AD, Champions Club folks and even Kennedy because they realize how important they are to UND. Even those who haven't donated yet or have donated less than $1000 will get responses. Donors giving $5000 or more are often invited to social events with the President, Champions Club, Alumni officials and coaches. They will listen to and speak with people at these events and follow up if someone has concerns or ideas. They don't rely on any of these people to make the decisions for UND or the athletic dept. They should have an intern to monitor social media but it shouldn't influence these decisions. Some of the comments concerning what experience the candidates have or need aren't as important as finding the person with the passion, intelligence, personality, energy , work ethic, integrity, charisma and drive to quickly assess where we are as an athletic department and University. They need to establish communication and cooperation with the University administration, faculty and staff including our coaches as well as our student athletes. They need to quickly establish communication and develop relationships with our student body and the Grand Forks community. They need to quickly establish good working relationships with the Alumni Assn, the Champions Club and the REA. They need to meet with and develop relationships with the booster clubs in GF and around the State and region. They need to connect with the hockey and FB alumni groups and find key former athletes or coaches to develop similar groups with our women athletes and VB, MBB, WBB and so called non- revenue sports. They need arrange to have dinner in the dorm dining facilities and every Fraternity and Sorority on campus. They need to have dinner and meet with leaders from our Native American Assn, Black student Assn and International Student Assn. They need to meet with the Dean of everyone of our Colleges and with whomever is in charge of what used to be High School relations. They need to find out who in the UND family has the resources to donate $1,000,000 or more and get Phase II of the High Performance started and finished within the next 3-4 years. That's off the cuff and there are likely some people or organizations that should be included. Kennedy has the final decision. He should spend time with each of the candidates before the decision is made. Who the candidate is and whether or not they have the ability and energy to get this done is more important than whether or not they were an AD, an Asst. AD, from an FBS school or an NAIA school. Each one of these four candidates have the resume ' on paper to do this. I don't think most of us have had the executive experience , the experience interviewing, hiring and firing to expect we should be heard. I don't want someone like us who thinks the results of an athletic event depends on what kind of beer we are drinking to affect the outcome of a game to make the decision. With all due respect that is why they aren't going to listen to us. Don't forget fans like us went crazy when UND hired Gino Gasparini as head Hockey coach instead of Ned Harkness. We would still be fighting with the NCAA over the logo and playing in the NSIC. We don't have much to say because we won't be held accountable for the decision. Faison did a lot to bring us past the financial disaster and the logo fiasco, the move to D1, the Hockey, Big West and Big Sky Championships. Gundy is correct in that there were areas of weakness that left us short in some areas. Hopefully the new AD can improve on what Brian did with improved communication and fan/ student/ booster/ alumni interaction.

Thus you need a QB who is an adequate passer. This type of running game can open up the passing game. Need to be creative with the kids we have.

This is as good of a thread to post this as any. I attended the Army Navy game this year and watched the Army and Navy Bowl games. Up to the early and mid 1960's they were both National powers. The Vietnam War certainly changed the thoughts of many athletes who might otherwise have considered attending one of the Academies and playing FB. The 5 yr post grad military commitment and decreased NFL opportunities remained a factor. Army, Navy and Air Force also have height and weight requirements that have affected the size of their linemen. The recent frequent deployments to the Middle East hell holes for active duty military are not great selling points either. The linemen for the Academies tend to be smaller than most FBS teams yet both Army and Navy have had two of the best running teams in then nation for some time. Air Force also has a multiple read option run game if I am not mistakes but I didn't see them this year. They have athletic QB's and multiple RB's who are on the field at the same time. Army's QB Bradshaw can't pass worth a lick . Navy's Malcolm Perry is very quick,and very fast but also doesn't pass very well. Their other QB Zach Abey is a great athlete who can run and isn't a bad passer. I think Studsrud would have been a much better QB with their multiple read option run game and is as good or better passer than these QB's. Take a look at the schemes these two teams run and I think that would be a very effective way to utilize our RB's. If you have an athletic QB who can pass, we would be a bitch to defend. These teams utilize smaller more athletic linemen very effectively. Big athletic linemen would be even better but it would be a way to better utilize our stable of outstanding RB's. Also a good scheme to utilize the athletic TE's. I bet Gundy could help Bubba draw up some nice sets where we have Johannesson, Olivera, Santiago and Gordon on the field at the same time. Heck, if we don't find a stud QB, put Santiago at QB and use him like Navy did with Perry. It's a fun scheme to watch and tougher to stop. I rather see something like this than a single back running up the middle against 9 in the box. This can get 9 in the box but still hard to stop.

No, but they should have communicated with the kids that still might get an offer. Some scholarship dollars become available if a player leaves early or someone who was offered goes elsewhere.

It did move him up didn't it? I'm not complaining about Studsrud, I am explaining why I support Rudolph moving on. Studsrud should get credit for working his butt off and for his accomplishments. I think he did all of that mostly on his own. I don't think Rudolph was responsible. I think I have exhausted most of my comments on this thread and at my age if I start repeating my self someone will send me to the nursing home.

You are correct. I believe I already pointed out his struggles especially his freshman year. We will never know how he would have developed. I can't say he would have been the QB he seemed to have the potential to become. My initial post to the subject of this blog was how he was treated by Rudolph. If he was given a shot and wasn't their guy fine. Coming into UND he was a very versatile athlete with decent speed who could make all of the throws. He was a hard working coachable kid. I would hope our staff will be able to help those players develop into their full potential. Thus my concerns about keeping Rudolph. If you think Rudolph has done a good job then we disagree. Obviously Mollberg is no longer an option.

I don't think so. I think we should have expected him to be able to carry an offense and win games for us when we needed him. He hadn't developed into that guy in his freshman year but I think he was starting to mature his second year. We never got the chance to see him develop. It wasn't because NDSU wanted him badly nor because Iowa, Minnesota, Northen Illinois were "interested". It was because of the potential he showed as a high school QB and as an outstanding athlete. There wasn't one guy better than he was, there was a coach who didn't give a chance to return from an injury. A lot of folks on this forum wanted a strong armed QB and Mollberg had all of the tools. He needed time to adjust to the speed and complexity of the college game. It's tough enough to do that as a freshman but it's a bitch to do that when you are trying to do that without pass protection, a decent running game and a QB coach. Look we will never know for sure but whether you think he would have developed into the player we thought he would be or not he deserved a chance after his injury. His ankylosing spondylitis that another blogger mentioned was treated. He was a tough kid and he didn't let that affect him. He not only played FB, he played basketball. He and Studsrud were two of the toughest kids on the team. Both of these kids have completed their careers and I guess we move on but just like the coaches are always reevaluating players, Bubba and the staff need to always reevaluate their own performance and abilities. Back to the subject at hand I think we need to upgrade at QB coach and OC. For other reasons I would also upgrade at OLine coach. Gundy explained that very clearly to me and I hope he communicates those thoughts to Bubba.

You are correct. Biggest reason I would like Rudolph replaced. I also think the QB situation and how it was handled is Bubba's biggest mistake as a head coach. There was absolutely no reason for them to pull Studsrud's redshirt at the end of a year we weren't going to make the playoffs. Hanson could have finished the season handing the ball off and Studsrud would be a senior next year. We all gave Keaton a pass for 3 years and much of this year because of the O line and receivers dropping passes. We never gave either Mollberg or Bartles a pass for the same problems. Their 1st 2 yrs our o line was as bad or worse and we had no running game. Their 1st yr they had talent at WR but those guys including Hardin had too many drops and the Fr Golladay and Jackson weren't always running the correct nor disciplined routes. Look at some of the old film and see what kind of protection those guys had. Mollberg was developing his Soph year before he got hurt and both years you should have been able to see the potential. Our staff did nothing to develop any of these three QB's. What progress Studsrud made was more the result of his own initiative and hard work than coaching. I know Mollberg and Bartles turned the ball over too much their Fr year but they also had no pass protection. Keaton had more Int than TD's his senior year. He also turned it over on a couple of fumbles. Whose is to say how Mollberg would have played but he should have been given a chance. They didn't let him play even when Keaton was injured. He got hurt when he was starting to play better and was told at the end of the season he was no longer in their plans. Rudolph treated him like crap and he didn't deserve that. You don't do that to a kid who gets hurt playing for you. The following August he was healthy and could have played. For those who think it was because he wasn't healthy you don't know what you are talking about. At the end of his Junior season one of the RB's told Mollberg Rudolph had commented he would never see the field Again as long as he was coaching here. Mollberg said he would play any position they thought would help the team so he was moved to TE. They also hinted they would cut his scholarship. I know some think my opinion is only because he was from DL. Maybe you are right. I also told UND Adam Thielen had the best hands of any HS receiver I had seen and I guess that must have been my DL bias too because UND didn't recruit him. Incidentally, Mollberg set a DL BBB career scoring record his senior year breaking Adam Thielen's record. He was Bohl and Vigen's top QB recruit his Sr year and they seem to know something about QB's. (Brock Johnson, Wentz and now Josh Allen). How the hell Rudolph and Bubba didn't want to at least give him a fair shot at coming back from his injury will never make sense to me. He was an excellent student, great athlete and great kid. He had as good of an arm as I have seen at UND in the almost 50 yrs I have been involved with UND FB. Had Mollberg been QB his last 2 years, he would have pissed off Rudolph because he would have changed some of the dumb ass play calling but I think we would have been better both years and made the playoffs 2 yrs ago and gone further in the playoff last year. No way to know what would but if anyone doesn't think we need a QB coach I disagree and I would bet all three of those QB's would agree. I think Bubba did what he thought would be best for the team and what he was trying to establish offensively. I disagreed with his decision but he is at practice and he is coaching. He is the one held responsible for the decisions. In that I supported him. They way Rudolph treated Mollberg was not acceptable and I will support his dismissal.

You do realize coaches aren't going to be getting their advice from fans. Even those of us who have played and coached can give them our opinion but they aren't going to waste a lot of their time considering anything we suggest unless we alert them to a potential recruit or donor. That is the way it has to be. What they need from us is money and support. There are a number of fans who base their decision to do so for the wrong reasons. These blogs range from former players some with high school or college coaching experience to elementary or middle school kids and it seems quite a number of sports fanatics who likely are living in their parents basement or extra room. On a blog each opinion is as valuable as another. Doesn't take any brains or knowledge of the game to figure out this season was a huge disappointment. People are venting. There are valid points and some not so much. People need to vent. They want to identify with a winner and for some this is maybe there only opportunity. Coaches shouldn't read these blogs. Players and parents shouldn't read these blogs. The problem is that pretty soon some of us might think we know what we are talking about!!! Having said that I would like you or someone else to explain the reason to keep Knauf or Rudolph.

Your Grandma was pretty quick. Not sure you could have covered her without holding half of the time.

Huge mistake

That's where our QB needs to change the play. Give it to the 235 lb RB who just picked up 2 yds with no running room on his 2 previous carries. I think he would have scored.

There certainly are limitations based on the personnel "package" on the field and the spread has options built into the package based on the defense but I strongly disagree that "no spread QB has options to call plays". If that is the case I would want a new QB and also want to evaluate why we aren't developing our QB's to do so. That to me is Rudolph's weakness.

Every good college QB across the country. That is why they watch and study film. I was told that Studsrud has not be given a lot of options and there seems to be a weird control issue. . Coaches can't handcuff a QB by making them afraid to audible to whatever the QB thinks will work based on his feel for the game and also what he reads looking at the defense. Putting backs/receivers in motion often gives the QB an idea of what the defense will do and that is why QB's at the college and pro level are expected to make the correct audible. If our QB's aren't comfortable doing that then we having a coaching communication problem. If Studsrud is as good as you seem to think he is then the coaches should have been able to develop his skills to the point he is like a coach on the field and should veto any stupid call from the OC. I think Studsrud would call a much different offensive game had he been allowed. He has his limitations but I don't believe being stupid is one of them.

I believe he will be gone shortly. He should be first to go. Rudolph should be next. We need a QB coach. That has got to be a top priority. We haven't been able to develop our QB's. Rudolph's assessment of who has the most potential has never been good from day one. Not just recently overlooking Zimmerman but Studsrud hasn't developed under Rudolph. What he has accomplished hasn't been because of the coaching. I would be willing to give Freund a shot at QB coach but not OC. Kostich shows promise and I would retain him. Kids like him. Special teams need to improve but before I would dump Kostich I would need to know more about how much time they spend on special teams each week. He is a good recruiter and I have heard good things about him.

People on fan boards aren't always very good evaluators of talent and no one can evaluate an athlete from the little they see on one of these social media clips. All college athletic teams have these blogs where fans can talk smart and pretend we have all of the answers. CJ will have the opportunity to get a great education and Bubba and his staff will give him every opportunity to succeed. Hopefully he will have a great career and have great time in college. There are a number of very good young athletes on this team that are going to get things turned around again .Thanks for your post.

The QB always has the last word. Doesn't matter what the coach calls if the QB reads a different defense or disagrees with the call he should change the call. If he isn't a wwell establisehed QB and doesn't have a good relationship with the OC and head coach he may end up on the bench.

I believe you will definitely see a new O-line coach. I know Bubba has been hearing comments similar to those on this blog about a change in OC. I don't believe in changing anything until season is over and then changes should be made right away to get new people in and part of the recruiting process.

Of course it is easier said than done. Success isn't always easy and I think sometimes the easy way gets us only part way to where we want to go. We too often piece-meal what we need to get done. Engelstad didn't do that with the arena. It is time we realize that there is a whole different level to which we should aspire to. In our athletic world, I believe this is what it is going to take. There are people like that out there, but will one of them apply?

Whomever we decide on they can't be a FB guy, MBB guy, hockey guy etc. they need to be a University of North Dakota guy. They need a vision and strategy that includes FB, VB, Hockey, Soccer, MBB, WBB, Track, the students, the GF community, the UND Alumni family, the State of North Dakota and the region. We need to upgrade our facilities and then evaluate and maintain or upgrade regularly. We need to engage the students and keep that relationship high on our priority list. We need to reach out to our faculty and staff whenever and where ever we can. We need to work hand in hand with our Champions Club and the Alumni office. We need a strong relationship with the city, county and Chamber officials. The job will require a dynamic leader will the organization skills to lead a team in order to accomplish these goals and help grow fan support and donations. This team will need to run a balanced budget with the ability to adjust to the changing political and economic climate and changes. We can no longer stall or delay our decisions or progress because of poor planning. We can't delay improving coaches salaries and we need to get phase 2 going on the practice facility. Our women's programs must be properly funded and supported. Those athletes should feel as they are an important part of the UND athletic department and experience. Their facilities should be second to none. We need to upgrade the marketing for the athletic teams and for the University. Anyone who interviews for this job and doesn't have these basic ideas in mind isn't ready for the job.

What goes on at the AC doesn't threaten what's in the best interest of the University but we must not ignore the success and failures of our friends to the south. Your one school comment is something only an ignorant moron would say. UND isn't going to waste anymore time on the old name and logo. Who cares if some take more time to move on. We cheer for success of the team and athletes not a nickname or logo. Nothing UND can do about it and there are a whole host of people who can be the scapegoats but it no longer matters. I believe the contract for the Engelstad arena gives ownership and control to UND with all profits going to support UND athletics . For some reason I thought it was 20 yrs after it opened but I would have to look it up. Doesn't involve Fargo. UND is a state institution and I understand the role of the legislature and SBOHE. Unfortunately the state could mess with UND funding by redirecting other funds if the arena is providing a large financial bonus to UND but the arena wouldn't be directly run by the legislature, Fargo folks nor UND haters.

The MVFC issue is settled so there is no reason to kick that dead horse. I agree we need to have the mindset that we win. I believe most of our fans understand that. I wouldn't look 70 miles south. They have a very different community and support system. They are a community of almost 200,000 people. They receive tremendous financial support from local and regional businesses who often times are not Alumni. Three of their most generous contributors are UND grads. (Mercil, Barry, Ingstad). UND's support strength is our alumni. We have a number of area businesses who are also very generous supporters but their aren't enough of them. We need to be evaluating every possibility for our programs including level of play and conference affiliation on a regular basis. Hopefully Kennedy has that in mind. He does have an affinity for what the AC is doing. I believe we need to pay attention but that wouldn't be my blueprint. We need to do it better. We need to consider the cost and options of moving up in FB. That wouldn't be possible right now and maybe not in the future but if we aren't positioning ourselves for that possibility we will be left flogging the dolphin like we were when UNI, Montana, Montana State moved up , then later the Su's. We need a vision and long term strategy that includes better support and sustainable support from out Alumni association. There is no reason we don't have the Phase 2 part of the Sports facility going. It will also take a commitment from our present donors to maintain and hopefully increase our present support. We need to put the name and logo crap to rest. That ship has not only sailed it has sunk. One of the reasons it won't ever come back is that no one in their right mind wants to deal with tribal governments. They can completely change over night. Happens with our own government elections. We also need to stop the crap about hockey vs other sports. There are many fans of neighboring schools in other sports who are loyal UND hockey fans and we need them. We also need to make sure the transition of the Engelstad arena to UND goes smoothly and we remain sensitive to the Engelstad family and are respectful of their opinions and input. Lots of work to do but lots of opportunities for success.